ACTION IN ARABIA

The mistitled ACTION IN ARABIA (1944) is a serviceable enough B spy thriller from RKO. A better title would have been DANGER IN DAMASCUS as that's where all of the action and intrigue takes place in this routine but entertaining little adventure film.

The great George Sanders stars as foreign correspondent Michael Gordon who arrives in Damascus in search of a story. He finds one when his traveling companion and fellow reporter William Chalmers (Robert Anderson) is murdered. Gordon, with the help of U.S. State Department agent Matthew Reed (Robert (KING KONG) Armstrong) uncovers a Nazi plot to unite various Arab tribes and factions in a plot against the Suez Canal.

The leader of the Nazis is hotelier Eric Latimer (Alan (BATMAN) Napier), while John (ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN) Hamilton) appears as a State Department official. The lovely Virginia Bruce is the woman caught in the middle of the plot which climaxes with some wild airplane stunt flying. Shot on the RKO back lot and on locations in Southern California, ACTION IN ARABIA is a pleasant enough way to spend 75 minutes.

 I can't help but wonder though if, years later, when Sanders appeared on BATMAN as Mister Freeze (one of three actors to play the role, the others being Otto Preminger and Eli Wallach), he and Alan (Alfred) Napier traded reminiscences about this film.